The Force of Prayer

In 1807, Wordsworth travelled with his sister Dorothy to visit with the Marshall family in Kirstall. While there, they visited Bolton Abbey and walked along the River Wharfe and William heard the story of ayoung William de Romilly of Egremont. The story has it that the lad was out with his greyhound and attempted to leap the Strid (a series of waterfalls and rapids that form where the River Wharfe narrows from over 30 feet wide to just a few feet wide in the course of 100 yards). The Strid's rushing water combined with its undercut banks make it a dangerous drowning hazard. The story continues that the boy attempted the leap while his dog was on the leash. The hound didn't leap, the leash caught, and the boy was swept into the water to his death.

This poem, with the full title The Force of Prayer; Or The Founding of Bolton Priory, A Tradition, was written after Wordsworth returned home from his excursion.